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Friday, December 30, 2016

Plane Spotting With A Twist...



Yesterday, I realised that my yellow fever vaccination certificate had expired. The certificate is an essential travel document to visit certain countries where yellow fever is endemic, without which one can get detained for a period of upto a week...
Given that travel schedules are at best uncertain, at worst last minute, I decided to get myself vaccinated today, taking advantage of the New Year holiday lull. The quarantine clinic at Incheon Airport administers the vaccine and the vaccination becomes effective after a 10-day period...


So I headed to Incheon Airport earlier today for the shot and on the way, I was greeted by the wonderful sight of an Asiana Airbus A380 lifting off...



When you see the A380, you find it difficult by any stretch of imagination to believe that this "whale" can actually fly... 


But it does, it does gracefully lift off, leaving me amazed and awestruck!


Thursday, December 29, 2016

It's Officially Winter...


It's been a week now and the hangover of the South Pacific trip wasn't quite over till early this morning, when it snowed like crazy and we had to wake up to icy realities of our existence in Korea...


The blue skies indeed look enticingly deceptive...


And what begins now is a freezing quarter of snow and winds that will chill you to the bone, a contrast to the warmth of the South Pacific...
Today, we have to frantically fish out our earmuffs, caps and gloves, bracing for the freezing days that lie ahead of us!



Friday, December 23, 2016

Daydreams Of Paradise - Still On Fiji Time...


It's been a few hours since we landed back in Incheon. Back in the dull, wintry chill of the Siberian winds that ravage the Korean peninsula, the balmy, warm and bright climes of the South Pacific seem to be a couple of light years away, on an alien planet in a distant galaxy...
Landing at Incheon Airport and we were greeted by the traditional Korean impersonal efficiency which is far cry from the warmth that the ever-smiling Fijians exude.
It is said your personality evolves to be a sum total of your experiences and your travels shape you in no small measure - you may return from your travels, but a little intangible and invaluable bit of the place that you have visited will always remain with you. 
This trip to the South Pacific was indeed one such epochal event in our lives. There is indeed something about Fiji in specific that will always stay with us forever, till we die.


The Fijian vibrancy is so perfectly reflected in the colourful banknotes that we used there...




It was particularly interesting to see how Indians who were brought into the Fijian islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu over a century ago, as labourers (girmitiyas), were persecuted, were at the receiving end of repressive colonial policies and then persecuted by a government dominated by ethnic locals, the vibrant community and prospered economically...

We were a bit startled to see an example of this in a jewelry shop in Denarau. Ornaments with the primordial Hindu symbol - Om - ॐ, were being sold. These were designed by a Fiji-Indian, Romil Patel...

The media too had a strong Indian imprint. The television has a significant Hindi content - both from India as well as local Fijian-Hindi content. And it appears to be really popular...


A news report on Amazon India in a local Fijian newspaper...


News on India's renewable energy revolution in Fiji Sun...


Obviously Bollywood stars are popular amongst all Fijians, cutting across racial lines, a clear example of India's soft power...


And then Titan watches seem to be quite popular in Fiji...

In Fiji, we did feel at home. You may attribute that to the significant presence ethnic Indians here, but we truly believe it was also because of the warmth of the Fijians...


As we settle down at home, it is hard to believe that we are back here in this icy urban "wilderness". It feels as though our consciousness is there, in sunny Fiji, and not here in Songdo. But thankfully, we have a weekend to recover from the weariness of the trip...
And to cheer ourselves, we treat ourselves to cups of hot chocolate - chocolate that I bought in Samoa...


Clearly we will enjoy the taste of the sunny Pacific for a bit more into wintry and snowy months that lie ahead of us...

Up In The Air .... Part 62





Taking off from Runway 02-20 of Nadi International Airport, it was time for another edition of Up In The Air...


Bidding goodbye to totoka Fiji!


It's hard to say bye to Fiji...


Setting course towards a north-westerly direction...


Solevu Island in the distance...


Denarau, which was home for us this past week directly below us...





That's the beauty of the Pacific - specks of emerald in a vast endless sea of brilliant blue...



Overflying the Naviti Island...




Viwa Island...



Look at that...


The Mamanuca Islands are on the right, while I have a view of the left side...





Overflying Guam...











Approach into dull Incheon begins...


Our flightpath...